Troy Jackson, Maine's last-minute Democratic nominee, faces a 101-day sprint to unseat Susan Collins

Troy Jackson had 101 days. That was the runway between his nomination as Maine's Democratic U.S. Senate candidate and Election Day — a compressed campaign born from crisis, handed to a fifth-generation logger and former Maine Senate president who had not been the party's original choice.

Jackson entered the race in July 2026 after Graham Platner, the Democrats' official nominee, dropped out following sexual assault allegations, which Platner denied. Scrambling to fill the ballot, Maine Democrats built a replacement process from scratch: potential candidates submitted their intent to run, collected signatures, and then a convention of 601 delegates voted to select the new nominee.

The result was not close. Before the convention even convened, 456 of the 601 delegates — roughly 75% — had already committed to Jackson. On July 25, he won 566 delegate votes, or 94% of the total, making him the nominee of a party that had not put his name before a single Maine voter in a statewide primary.

There is a place in this campaign for all of you. There is work for you in this movement. And I will spend every day now through November earning that trust, because today we turn the page. Today, this becomes a general election campaign, and today we begin the work of defeating Susan Collins in November.— Troy Jackson, Democratic U.S. Senate nominee

The race is one of the most competitive in the country. Collins, a five-term Republican incumbent, has long been a target for Democrats hoping to flip Senate control, and Jackson — a progressive populist who emphasizes his blue-collar background as a logger and former labor activist — is now their vehicle for doing it.

But the path to the general election has already generated friction. Republicans and some Democrats questioned whether the delegate convention, however orderly, amounted to party insiders choosing a nominee rather than voters. The criticism carries particular edge because Jackson has a documented record of championing direct democracy. In 2019, he sponsored legislation that would have Maine award its electoral votes to the winner of the national popular vote.

Let's total all the votes up across the country, and whoever gets the most votes wins; that seems a simple premise to me.— Troy Jackson, speaking to local media in 2019

I've always believed that our democracy is at its best when everyone has a chance to participate – whether I agree with you on an issue or not.— Troy Jackson, posting on X in 2020

Republicans moved quickly to frame that gap as hypocrisy. Kristen Cianci, a spokesperson for the Republican National Committee, said Jackson had abandoned his stated beliefs to gain power.

It's become increasingly clear that Troy Jackson will shapeshift into anything he needs to in order to gain power – including abandoning the belief that voters should decide elections. Mainers want a senator they can trust, not a snake-oil-salesman standing ready to sell them out at a moment's notice.— Kristen Cianci, Republican National Committee spokesperson

Maine Democrats defended the process. "We have worked hard to create a fair process that is inclusive of varying viewpoints and diverse backgrounds of Democrats across the state of Maine, as we all come together in service of our ultimate goal: defeat Susan Collins and win this Senate seat," the party stated on its website, calling the circumstances "unprecedented."

Skepticism also came from within the party. Political activist Shannon Watts, who had opposed Platner's nomination, was blunt about Jackson as a potential replacement, citing a reported 2021 incident in which Jackson allegedly threw a water bottle at fellow Democratic state senator Heather Sanborn — an outburst Jackson has since apologized for.

So no, we're not going to pick this f---ing guy.— Shannon Watts, political activist and commentator

Despite that opposition, the delegate math told a different story. Jackson, a fellow progressive who shares Platner's positions on Medicare for All, abolishing ICE, severing U.S. military aid to Israel, and raising taxes on top earners, consolidated support rapidly. Jackson did not immediately respond to requests for comment on whether he viewed his nomination as a circumvention of the regular primary process, according to Fox News.

Former Vice President Kamala Harris offered Jackson an early endorsement, drawing a parallel to her own late entry into a presidential campaign.

I know what it is like to step up to the plate with a short runway to Election Day. Troy will have just 101 days between his nomination for Senate and when voters in Maine will cast their ballots.— Kamala Harris, former Vice President, in a fundraising email

On the campaign trail, Jackson has been running in a low-key style, emphasizing grassroots outreach across the state.

Republicans have also opened an advertising front against Jackson, targeting a 2009 vote he cast as a rank-and-file state senator for a tax overhaul championed by then-Gov. John Baldacci. The ad, paid for by the Senate Leadership Fund — the main outside group boosting Senate Republicans nationally, which has booked nearly $34.8 million in Maine ad buys this cycle according to AdImpact — claims Jackson "cut tax rates for the rich and raised taxes on working class Mainers."

The Bangor Daily News fact-checked that claim and found it misleading. The 2009 bill cut the top income tax rate from 8.5% to 6.5% while broadening the sales tax to cover services like auto repair and dry cleaning and raising the meals and lodging tax. Maine's tax agency projected the changes would cut Mainers' overall burden by $55 million, with as many as 90% of residents seeing a net cut. The law proved deeply unpopular, however: voters repealed it by nearly 20 points in a 2010 referendum, a result that preceded a Republican takeover of Augusta. Only one Senate Republican voted for the original bill.

With the advertising war already underway and the clock running, Jackson's campaign faces the dual challenge of introducing himself to voters who never chose him in a primary while defending a legislative record that opponents are already reframing on their own terms.

Why it matters — The Maine Senate race is among the most competitive in the country, and how Jackson navigates the legitimacy questions around his unconventional nomination could determine whether Democrats can flip a seat — and potentially Senate control.

Reported by nytimes.com, foxnews.com, bangordailynews.com